1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of devices used to remove a tire mounted on a wheel rim, and in particular to tools used to break the tire bead away from the flange of the wheel rim.
2. Statement of the Problem
Heretofore, a Wide variety of devices have been used to remove a conventional automobile or truck tire from its rim. One approach is simply to apply a large force against one or more points of the side wall of the tire while supporting the opposite side wall and wheel rim, thereby causing the tire bead to break away from the wheel rim at the points where force is applied. This approach generally requires exertion of large forces on the side wall of the tire, and correspondingly large support forces on the opposite side of the tire and wheel rim.
A second approach is to insert a tool between the tire wall and wheel rim which simultaneously pushes against the tire wall and pulls back against the interior surface of the wheel rim along a relatively small section of the periphery of the tire. This approach is more readily adaptable to small hand tools. However, the tools disclosed in the prior art generally have one or more shortcomings in areas such as: (a) adaptability of the tool to a wide variety of modern wheel rims; (b) size and portability of the tool; (c) ease of use, particularly in regard to initial insertion of the tool between the tire wall and wheel rim; and (d) requirement of an external power source, such as compressed air, for operation of the tool.
A prior art search conducted by the inventor of the present invention disclosed a variety of devices for removing a tire from its rim. The most pertinent references uncovered in this search are as follows:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. Issue Date ______________________________________ Snider 1,475,518 11/27/23 Sauer 2,316,023 4/6/43 McCulloch 2,367,638 1/16/45 Danroth, et al. 2,652,103 9/15/53 Bergeron 2,672,185 3/16/54 Branick 3,693,692 9/26/72 Branick 3,771,580 11/13/73 Konen 3,847,197 11/12/74 Bunts 3,880,220 4/29/75 Freixinos 4,355,675 10/26/82 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 2,316,023 issued to Sauer discloses a hand tool having a first arm 18 with a curved lower end that cams against a second wedge-shaped arm 17 to separate the tire from the wheel rim. A second embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7 through 14 having two parallel wedge-shaped arms 30 and 31. A lever mechanism slides the arm 31 downward with respect to arm 30, thereby separating the tire from the wheel rim.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,652,103 issued to Danroth et al., is perhaps the clearest example of a number of variations in which two wedge-shaped or claw-shaped members are initially inserted between the tire wall and the wheel rim. One of these members is then pushed forward with respect to the other member, causing the tire wall to separate from the wheel rim. Other examples of this general approach are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,693,692 and 3,771,580 to Branick; U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,675 to Freixinos; U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,638 to McCulloch; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,197 to Konen.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,672,185 to Bergeron, U.S. Pat. No. 1,475,518 to Snider, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,220 to Bunts are further general examples of tire bead loosening tools in which a lateral force is exerted on the tire wall to separate the tire from the wheel rim.
3. Solution to the Problem.
None of the prior art references uncovered in the search set forth the use of a simple, compact hand tool having the specific structure of the prevent invention which can be readily adapted for use with a wide variety of types of wheel rims; initially inserted between the tire and wheel rim with a minimum amount of difficulty; and manually operated without the need for an external power source.